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Hiking the Northwest
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Pennsylvania's scenic northwest boasts a plethora of hiking opportunities for the enthusiast. Gorges, ravines, and steep hills will keep you on your toes, so make sure you bring your sturdiest boots!
PrintEmailMcConnell's Mill State Park
>>>Begin your adventure at McConnell's Mill State Park, just a 90-minute drive north of Pittsburgh. A National Natural Landmark, this 2,529-acre park's main feature is Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. Steep cliffs within the woods have become popular for rock climbing and rappelling. Slippery Rock Creek rushes between enormous boulders that attract photography buffs and daredevils alike. Trails parallel the distinctive waterways, and a pair of bridges spanning Slippery Rock Creek allows hikers to partition the hike or walk a loop. Central to the park are a large restored gristmill and a covered bridge that dates to 1874. Nearby Moraine State Park offers two sandy beaches for relaxing after your hike.
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Pymatuning State Park
Pymatuning State Park is one of the largest parks in the Commonwealth, and although there are only two miles of trails, the scenery is endless. Pack a picnic, hike the trails, and explore the water's edge. Pymatuning's biggest draw is its expansive lake where visitors enjoy plenty of water activities. Other attractions of the park are the fish hatchery, the dam, and the Linesville Spillway, where there are so many fish that the ducks walk across their backs! Environmental education programs at the park include guided walks and demonstrations.
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Oil Creek State Park
Oil Creek State Park covers 7,100 acres. It celebrates the oil boom and the birth of the petroleum industry, but its natural features are what most visitors like best. Trails travel the steep-walled wooded canyon along 13.5 miles of Oil Creek, along which oil wells, boomtowns, refineries, transportation centers, and cemeteries sprouted in the 1860s. The linear routes that parallel Oil Creek (West Side Trail, East Side Trail, Bike Trail, and even the seasonally operating Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad) lend themselves to circuitous tours. The woods along the West Side Trail cradle artifacts from the petroleum era. With some 70 miles of hiking, theme, and interpretive trails in the park, the West Side Trail-Bike Trail loop marks just the beginning.
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Hickory Creek Wilderness
The Hickory Creek Wilderness, an 8,663-acre roadless area in the Allegheny National Forest, features a loop trail bounded by East and Middle Hickory Creeks. The trail explores the gently rolling wilderness terrain of ridge plateaus and creek valleys. Traverse a quiet realm of hardwood and hemlock forests and broad meadows, and keep an eye out for deer, porcupines, raccoons, foxes, woodpeckers, turkeys, black bears, and more. Celebrate the calm and beauty of Pennsylvania's prized wilderness along this 12.1-mile loop trail that goes from a 1,900-foot elevation at the trailhead to an elevation of 1,500 feet.
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